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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · face · scale · spring · tube · bass · pop · chip

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bass — low music
  4. ground — crushed
  5. face — part of the head
  6. spring — the season
  7. tube — a container
  8. scale — in music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. ground — the earth
  11. spring — a coil
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. face — to point toward
  15. spring — of water
  16. ground — a position
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pop — to visit
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pop — soda
  22. chip — to eat
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com